I Live in a fairly humid part of California.
Brass storage is very difficult. It seams to get spots on it very easy and VERY hard to get off. How do you guys store brass? And how do you clean NEW Tarnished brass. And keep it Clean

Also what is the most agressive media for my vibratory cleaner to get this stuff Clean..
I'm kinda stumped here.

My dad does most of the reloading in the family but suffers from the same delima.

Thanks Sur5er

I have the same problem.....I'm hoping someone chimes in with a solution/

Where I live we don't get much humidity,But I store my cleaned brass in ziplock baggies.I also use plastic shoe boxes when sorting.
I can't say about the polish cuz I just use corncob that has been treated.Hope this helps.

Oxidation(tarnish)needs moisture and oxygen to form. Deprive the brass of either or both and you solve the problem. I live in hot/humid low country SC and have been storing my cleaned brass and loaded cases in surplus ammo boxes for 15 years with no problems. For real long-term storage I use Foodsaver vacuum bags. Save those little desiccant bags that come in food and electronics and dry them out in a low heat oven. Then put them in the container with the brass. That should take care of things. To really clean brass I just pour white vinegar over it for 5 minutes, rinse, dry and tumble. This keeps you from having to use an aggressive media. Lastly, don't touch the brass with your fingers after it's been cleaned. Some folks body chemistry can really corrode metal. My youngest son removed the paint from the cruise control and radio buttons in his car with the skin oil from his fingers!

It's relatively humid in my part of the state also. I tumble my brass with ground walnut shells, zip-lock it, and store it in milsurp ammo cans.

I think every shooter/hunter/outdoorsman should own a vacuum sealer!

A zip lock bag with a desicant chip thrown in will also work..... but not as well as a vacuum sealed container.



Shown above: Some of the many annealed 7mm TCU cases I've prepared for loading...... when I get my lazy ass around to doing it.

I find corn cob to be slightly more aggressive than ground walnut, I use it with some NuFinish car polish added in. It gets the brass really clean and shiny. I have seen where Cabela's offers ceramic media, which should be more aggressive for what ever that is worth, I've been thinking of trying some, but waiting to get a new job before playing around with it!

Keeping the desicant in whatever you store your brass in should really help...I also think that having the wax/polish in your tumbling/cleaning process helps the brass keep it's finish.

Actually, I think the walnut media is a bit more aggressive than the corn cob media because the walnut is harder.

I've used both walnut and corn cob media. The corn cob requires a bit longer run time to get cases shiny and clean.

But having said that, I use the cheaper corn cob media and with Mid-Way brass polish.

For me, if the brass is clean and fits into the chamber, why sweat it? I have tons of tarnished brass. They all fit into the chamber and fire just fine. I pulled one from the mud that is essentially maroonish over its entire surface. It tumbled up with a nice, patina-like gloss to it and fires just fine. Yeah, a tarnished case looks crappy, but what the hell? You could polish them with a Scotch-brite pad. That will really make 'em shine...

A little discoloration won't hurt a thing. Big coroded spots will. If it is really bad try either the vacuum bag or zip lock and desicant method. Some polishes will leave a slight residue that can discourage tarnish also.

quote:

Originally posted by homebrewer:
For me, if the brass is clean and fits into the chamber, why sweat it? I have tons of tarnished brass. They all fit into the chamber and fire just fine. I pulled one from the mud that is essentially maroonish over its entire surface. It tumbled up with a nice, patina-like gloss to it and fires just fine. Yeah, a tarnished case looks crappy, but what the hell? You could polish them with a Scotch-brite pad. That will really make 'em shine...

Ziplock bags, the 1 gallon freezer ones. Put brass in them and it will stay nice and shiny forever and you can take a few out and just re seal the bag.

Oh yeah, you can also put freshly cast bullets in them and they will stay all nice and shiny, plus you can see what you have at a glance.

Hey aManDuh,
It's bad enough that you post in the ARPF. It's a shame that we have to suffer your presence in the other forums also.
ESAD, MF
GWB

Let me guess.........




Lab Puppy!

What are we trying to say, Mark? Those dimples are from the wrong powder not being entirely burned in a short barrel. Those brass were nice and shiny before their trip through the breech...